Wellbeing and health at heart of communities

Speaking at a parliamentary reception on rural mental health in Holyrood, NFU Scotland’s director of regions

Teresa Dougall, pictured, spoke about an initiative in Dumfries and Galloway that has put health and wellbeing are at the heart of the farming community.

Working with farmers and the rural community for more than 25 years, she has seen and heard first-hand the difficulties farmers face in maintaining good health and wellbeing. They may work and live in a beautiful environment, but it can be lonely and isolating, and services others take for granted operate around working hours which do not suit those who are farming.

Seeking to ensure that doors are always open, a Dumfries and Galloway initiative on rural health and wellbeing, which was launched on the union stand at Dumfries Show in 2017, shows what can be achieved.

Teresa writes: ‘We know farmers don’t like discussing their feelings. They don’t like admitting anything is wrong. And they don’t like asking for help. In addition, they don’t like – or can’t – take time away from work, which often merges with home life.’

The initiative has provided leaflets providing contacts for organisations which could assist in wellbeing and mental health; it lobbies for better connectivity in rural areas so that all parts of the community can access friends and family through social media or Facetime, and it provides opportunities for networking and socialising. The Farmers’ and Farmers’ Wives’ Choir, with its roots in the south-west, performed at the parliamentary reception and is a great example of bringing people together to sing, talk or make friends.

Meanwhile, the Retired Farmers’ Group is going from strength to strength, providing monthly gatherings for retired farmers and agricultural workers.

Teresa concludes: ‘This initiative is about ensuring our farming community feels supported and informed when it comes to health and wellbeing.’

Read the full blog at www. nfus.org.uk/news/blog.